


Cowboys In Need

by orphan_account



Category: Adam Levine (Musician), Blake Shelton (Musician), The Voice (US) RPF
Genre: M/M, Shevine, The Shevine Project, Tumblr, request fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-06 22:05:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4238241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During a rough elimination round, Adam finds himself unable to stop from comforting Blake, even if they're technically still on camera.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cowboys In Need

**Author's Note:**

> Written to fill the request "You guys are fantastic, I was up till 3 AM reading last night and I loved every minute of it. I would to see a fic where Blake has to send a young member of his team home, gets totally broken up about it and Adam jumps in to comfort him, both of them forgetting they are still on live tv. Thanks!" on The Shevine Project (theshevineproject.tumblr.com)

The hardest part of being on 'The Voice' was when your contestants were eliminated. It was something that Adam and Blake had comissnerated about over many a drink over the past four years. Adam thought it would get easier as they did more seasons of the show, but it didn't. Sometimes it was harder, knowing that so few of the contestants voted off would make something of themselves, no matter what strings their coaches pulled to get them record deals and gigs after they'd left the show.

There was a young girl on Team Blake that year who had been through so much more than her footage on the show had even hinted at. Adam himself didn't know all the details, but Blake knew most of it and he'd worried about her the last three weeks of live eliminations. Adam could read the tension in his best friend's shoulders, the anxiety in his beautiful blue eyes. But there wasn't much either one of them could do once it was put into America's hands.

Zero hour was upon them once again and Adam glanced at Blake as Carson stretched out the announcement of who was going to go home as long as possible. The country singer was stooped forward in his seat, hands over his mouth. He looked almost in pain and Adam wanted so badly to help his friend feel better.

If the plight of Tina, the young contestant whose fate was currently torturing Blake, was something that the audiences at home didn't know, they also didn't know that Adam and Blake were more than friends. Or even best friends. And they had been for almost the whole run of the show. Given Blake's career, it was a secret that had to be guarded and the whole big deal over Shevine had made it even easier to hide the truth in plain sight. But that didn't always make keeping the displays to a show appropriate level easy.

Adam squirmed in his seat. His team had been the only one to have no one in the bottom three tonight and that should have made it easier for him. In a way it was worse, watching Blake and being able to read the depth of his anxiety in the little signs most people wouldn't know. Though, at this point even someone who was blind could tell the country singer was in knots.

"And the contestant leaving 'The Voice' tonight is..." Carson paused dramatically and took a deep breath. "...Tina Strauss."

Blake's head dropped a moment, shoulders sagging. The cameras would all pan to Tina, who was cupping a hand to her face and blinking back tears. Only Adam's eyes never went to the stage, instead staying on his cowboy's lanky frame, as if he could telepathically communicate some sort of comfort.

On stage, Carson was putting his arm around Tina, who was obviously shaken by her elimination. She wiped away tears with a shaking hand, looking devastated but still holding herself together fairly well for a fifteen year old girl.

"Tina, what would you like to say to your coach, Blake Shelton?" Carson urged her gently.

Tina bit her lip and considered it a moment. "I just want to tell Blake how much I appreciate his support. Not just as a coach, but as a friend. He's taught me a lot. Not just about being a better singer, but about being a better person. This has been an amazing experience and I just..." She took a deep, shaky breath. "I just feel so blessed that I got to do this."

"Tina.." Blake swallowed hard, answering without needing to be prompted. "The thing that's so amazing about this girl is her strength. She's got this amazing inner strength. And it pours into everything she does. Not only is she talented...but..she's an amazing young lady."

His blue eyes filled with tears and he shook his head a little, looking sad. "Ya'll have no idea how strong this girl is...I'm so lucky to have gotten to work with you, Sis."

Adam could feel the pain coming off of Blake in waves and he was finding it hard to sit still. He knew what his friend was thinking, he was going over every misstep he might have taken that could have cost Tina her chance at the title. Even if there was nothing he could've done, he would still feel like he had failed her somehow. Blake got very attached to his contestants, especially the teenagers. And if this girl had a hard life, it would be all that much painful for him to see her fail.

Everyone in the audience started clapping for Tina, and Blake stood up, clapping his heart out. Adam stood too, glancing from the stage to see how his friend was doing. He was sure his own heart would break when he saw a single tear sliding down the country singer's cheek.

What happened next almost felt like an out of body experience. Adam found himself crossing the stage, the only thought in his mind getting to Blake. He knew well and full that the cameras were still rolling, but he didn't care. All that mattered was comforting the person he loved, even if everyone was talking about it the next morning.

Once he was at Blake's chair, he touched his friend's shoulder. When Blake turned in his direction, Adam reached up to wipe the tear away with the pad of his thumb, his touch gentle. He embraced the country singer tightly. He felt Blake stiffen for a moment in surprise, then fold into his arms, wrapping his arms around Adam in return.

"Thanks," Blake breathed in a tight voice, the weight of his head coming to rest on Adam's shoulder. "Needed that."

Adam hugged him tightly, not really caring if everyone was staring or not. He also didn't give a damn if the cameras were still rolling now or not. The show meant a lot to him, but what he'd found in the tall country star sitting at the opposite end of the red chairs was the best thing of all to come from 'The Voice.' And that gift would last the rest of their lives, if they were lucky. Somehow he was sure they would be.

"Hey...you know I've always got your back. Right?"

A little ripple of happiness went through Adam when he felt the other man squeeze him back just a little tighter. "Damn right."

When they finally untangled, Adam noticed that there was a lot more staring and a lot less talking than there usually was right after a show ended. He smiled, not really sure if he cared if they were caught or not. It was hard to keep something that meant so much to him a total secret, though Adam was a private person and enjoyed keeping Blake's role in his life to himself. Still, he had no regrets about what he'd just done.

"Drinks later?" Blake asked him, waiting for Adam's nod of agreement before he went to talk to Tina and her family.

As Adam watched Blake hugging his contestant and comforting her, Carson appeared at his elbow. He looked over at the host and gave a little nod in his boyfriend's direction. "That was hard one for him."

"Everything okay?" The host asked, though there was a bit of a twinkle in his eyes. He was one of the few people who knew about the relationship between the two coaches and he'd been the one to push the producers to make Shevine a thing. The best way to hide something sometimes was to put it out there in plain sight and make it seem like a joke.

"Yeah," Adam nodded. He spoke loud enough for everyone around them to hear. "He looked like heneeded a hug...and that's my job."

Carson chuckled a little. "And you did it like you were being paid overtime."

"So...." He lowered his voice, trying to sound casual. "How much of that was actually on camera?"

"Mmmm...enough that hashtag Shevine is going to shut down Twitter tonight." Carson admitted with a sheepish smile. "But if it's any consolation, the producers aren't upset."

Adam saw Blake pulling away from Tina's family and heading backstage. He paused at the edge of the stage, looking over for Adam. Somehow, the sight of the country singer turning those amazing blue eyes on him, looking for reassurance, was enough to make his heart skip a beat. And honestly not much else seemed to matter at that moment.

"I don't care if they are or aren't." He shrugged and raised a hand to Blake. "Now, if you excuse me, Blake looks like he needs another hug."

"Sure," Carson grinned at him, dark eyes impish. "Just, ah, practice safe 'hugging', okay?"

Adam cheerfully flipped his friend off and headed to his cowboy's side.


End file.
